 Central Facility |
 Minimum Security Facility |
 Medium Security and Occoquan Facilities |
 Youth Correction Facility |
 Fairfax County Energy Resource Recovery Facility [UNRELATED] |
|
In 1995 the Lorton complex was inhabited by 7,300 inmates, which was approximately 44 percent overcapacity. The District of Columbia Department of Corrections had not received a budget increase in 11 years while 3,000 more felons have been placed in that department's custody. The shortage of funds resulted in proposals to adopt an aggressive early release program whereby criminals are set free before serving even the minimum sentence required by the courts.
Lorton's facilities are in a condition of dangerous disrepair, outmoded, outdated, and its present use is contrary to the purposes for which it was originally intended. Originally, Lorton was designed as a workcamp for misdemeanants and drunkards, in which men lived and worked in dormitories in an effort to rehabilitate themselves. The same dormitories which were designed to hold nonviolent, minimum security prisoners currently house up to 150 high security convicts.
Overcrowding and underfunding transformed Lorton prison from a rehabilitative facility into a training ground for career criminals. Recidivism rates among Lorton inmates have been reported as high as 90 percent. A 1987 U.S. General Accounting Office [GAO] study found that nearly 7 of 10 adult inmates living at Lorton at the time of the study had previously been convicted of a felony offense in the District of Columbia and incarcerated at Lorton. About one-third of the adult inmates have been previously convicted and incarcerated at Lorton more than once.
There have been serious shortages in food, cleaning supplies and heating oil at Lorton because the city has failed to pay companies that supply those services. Public statements from the Director of DC's Department of Corrections indicate her lack of confidence in both internal and external security at the prison facilities because of inadequate staffing and inadequate resources. Reports of a drug kingpin operating a substantial drug trafficking operation for the past four years out of the Lorton facilities attests to the deteriorated situation. Other problems at the Lorton Complex have included religious schismatics delivering drugs and sex to inmates and allegations of the ready availability of weapons and narcotics. But the escape and assault rates with the DC Department of Corrections are at or below averages for similar prison systems. In 1996 the House of Representatives District of Columbia subcommittee released a report that was highly critical of Lorton. The study was commissioned by Congress, sponsored by the National Institute of Corrections and conducted by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD). It found major problems in such areas as physical plant conditions, Department of Corrections security policies and procedures, bed capacity, inmate classification, staffing levels, adequacy of department resources and funding and inadequacy in inmate programs. Also criticized were prison emergency response capabilities; day-to-day security procedures and policies; overcrowding; inadequate supervision; access to contraband; a lack of education, treatment and counseling programs; and perimeter security. The study noted that "throughout the DOC, there are substantial discrepancies between the physical design of the institutions and the inmate custody needs. Even where the physical design is appropriate for the inmate population, the architecture for the buildings and campuses is often inefficient and poses supervision and observation difficulties."Although President Clinton initially planned to renovate and continue the operation of the Lorton Complex, in March 1997 Senator John Warner introduced legislation that would require the closure of the Lorton Correctional Complex by the year 2003. And Representatives Moran, Davis, and Wolf, introduced legislation [HR 461] that would begin the process of moving the DC Department of Corrections from Fairfax County.
The Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which took effect 05 August 1997, required District of Columbia officials to begin transferring Lorton prisoners as soon as possible and to close Lorton within four years. The District's Amended FY1998 Budget and Financial Plan reflects the impact of the 1997 National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Act on the finances of the District of Columbia. Under the Act, the Federal Bureau of Prisons will assume responsibility for the District's sentenced adult felons. According to the Act, by October 1, 2001, any felon sentenced consistent with Federal Truth-in Sentencing guidelines shall be designated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (the "Bureau") to a correctional facility operated or contracted by the Bureau. During the transition period, the Department of Corrections will be overseen by a Corrections Trustee appointed by the Attorney General in consultation with the Authority, the Mayor, the Council and representatives of the D.C. judiciary. According to the Act, the federal government will accept all current prisoners as well as any new prisoners, provided they are sentenced in accordance with federal standards.
The budgetary impact of the proposed Plan will be to relieve the District of the responsibility of paying for all sentenced adult offenders on October 1, 1997. The precise amount of savings to be achieved by the District remains unclear. The District estimates that the cost of incarcerating felony prisoners will be approximately $204 million in FY1998. However, based on earlier estimates, OMB has planned outlays of only $169 million for FY1998. If Congress appropriates funding at this lower level, the District will not receive full payment for the cost of felony prisoners as provided in the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Act.The largest amount of savings to the District will result from transferring the cost of the Lorton facilities to the federal government. The Act requires Lorton to be closed by December 31, 2001, and the felony population sentenced under the DC Code transferred to a Bureau-owned or contracted facility. The Lorton site would then be turned over to the US Department of the Interior.
The Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America has proposed building a 1,500-bed prison a 200 acres site in Warren County NC to hold inmates from Lorton. A Corrections Corporation of America facility near Youngstown, Ohio currently holds about 1,200 Lorton medium-security prisoners on a short-term basis [there have been allegations of mistreatment and abuses at the Youngstown facility].
Estimated Costs of Sentenced Felon Population
FY 1998
|
Facility Location |
Projected Sentenced Felon Population |
FY 1998 Daily Costs/Inmate |
Projected Total Costs for Sentenced Felons |
| Contracted Costs | 2,885 |
||
| BOP | 525 |
$73.08 |
$0 |
| CTF | 700 |
$97.64 |
$24,947,020 |
| CCA Youngstown | 1,500 |
$69.60 |
$38,106,000 |
| Halfway Houses | 160 |
$47.30 |
$2,762,320 |
| DOC Facility Costs | 4,965 |
||
| Central | 1,245 |
$85.45 |
$38,830,616 |
| Maximum | 590 |
$101.97 |
$21,959,240 |
| Minimum | 690 |
$70.61 |
$17,783,129 |
| Youth Center | 670 |
$75.99 |
$18,583,355 |
| Medium | 95 |
$62.39 |
$2,163,373 |
| Occoquan | 1,105 |
$53.47 |
$21,565,788 |
| Detention | 530 |
$84.05 |
$16,259,473 |
| Community Centers | 40 |
$55.37 |
$808,402 |
| Total DOC Costs | 7,850 |
$76.21 |
$203,768,714 |
Source: NCCD and KPMG Peat Marwick, "Analysis of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections FY 1998 Budget Request and Estimate of Federal Government Reimbursement Costs", September 5, 1997.